Snakecharmer,
Is the FI/R itself not a decent test of skill then? I have a couple of CPL FI friends who reckon the CPL skills test was a walk in the park compared to the FI/R? Where you a crap instrutor as a PPL? Are you saying that many, most or virtually all PPL instructors were crap also? I found all my PPL instructors to be highly skilled and vary experienced ... I must have been lucky? Also by what you say, the magority of French PPL's must be pretty lacking too, as most of their instructors are just PPL's. Also a NPPL M having been trained by a non CPL instructor can simply do some differences training and fly virtually all the same two seat aircraft that most PPL's in this country fly ... but obviously in a much less skilled way.
I'd be happy with a tough pre-FI/R skills test if the FIR one is deemed not up to scratch? Or a harder FI/R skill test? What erks me is the ridiculous need to obtain the CPL ground exams to prove an appropriate level of knowledge to teach basic PPL. Even these wouldn't be too bad if you didn't have to do the compulsory ground school which makes obtaining these exams so expensive these days. Why is it that our CAA has interpreted the JAR standard required to become an instructor in a different way to other European countries? Where's the level playing field?
Still we can stay as we are and like the title of this thread says, instructors can remain a rare breed ... well, at PPL SEP level anyway. The microlight, SLMG and gliding though, will probably continue to flourish (until mode S kills that off ... but then I guess you proffesionals would prefer that we amateurs were grounded anyway).
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